Blog

March 5, 2013

TV On Instagram

At HIP GENIUS we are always looking for the latest and greatest in social TV marketing not only because it’s our jobs, but because it’s our LIFE! We are TV obsessed and knowing everything and anything about our favorite shows is one of the benefits of the job. So recently we wanted to take a look at what some of our favorite shows are doing on one of our favorite social platforms, Instagram.

Surprisingly it’s kind of tough to find series specific accounts. Aside from a token few, most accounts are network specific or talent from the shows includes photos from the set with branded hashtags. We also noticed that talk shows seem to be latching onto this platform more than scripted series.

With that in mind, take a look at some of the best Instagram’s of television and what they’re doing well and what they could be doing better. Tell us in the comments if we missed any, we’d love to follow more!

Shares lots of fan photos, random funny pics from around the internet (some are timely such as the dog with a human face pic), show pics/behind the scenes, baby/pet pics, inspirational/uplifting quotes, Ellen interacting in funny ways with friends/family/celebs etc.

Appears most photos are taken from Jimmy’s perspective giving fans a real inside look into his personality

Gets fans involved through a recurring bit called “Late Night Instagrams.” A hash tag is regularly promoted on air to submit photos with, Best photos submitted are shared on air. EX: #DIYHalloween http://bit.ly/TY1udE

Missed Opportunities:

Instagram is not linked to Facebook

Photos are not shared on the Facebook wall via Instagram

“Late Night Instagrams” are not shared from the Late Night profile. Best submissions should be featured to encourage more engagement with the photos.

Consensus: Overall it appears to be a lack of TV Series on Instagram. Networks, talk shows and actors/talent seem to be the ones most commonly using this platform. This makes sense as talk shows definitely have a plethora of content to share with rotating guests each day and comedy bits that can easily translate into fun social programs. Leveraging talent from shows to share photos from the set of top series is also a great way to spread social awareness for a series. Lena Dunham and Aaron Paul are just two examples of celebrities using their star power to increase social awareness for their series. Check out a full list of TV Stars to follow on Instagram here: http://bit.ly/R8ZkDU

It also seems that there is a constant disconnect between keeping social platforms connected. Many of the above examples do not link their Instagram profiles to their Facebook pages and often choose to drive fans to their website to view photos instead of straight to their Instagram feed. This seems to be a loose end that needs tightening. We get that sometimes it is difficult to know when to draw the line in the sand when asking fans to follow you on every single platform. But if you’re going to curate images on platforms like Instagram or Pinterest, why not let people know they exist? Rather than finding these Instagram profiles through Facebook or the show’s website, we had to hope for the best with Instagram’s search on a lot of them.

What are your favorite Entertainment focused Instagram accounts? Tell us who we missed!